Launch News Minitaur IV to Launch ORS-5 for USAF (August 25, 2017 11:15 p.m. EDT)

[Nicholas Kang]

The Minotaur 4 rocket stands at Complex 46 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The thermal insulation covering the lower stages of the rocket will be manually removed in the final hours of the countdown. Credit: Orbital ATK

Launch Date: August 25, 2017 11:15 p.m. EDT
Launch Site: SLC-46, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
Mission Customer: United States Air Force

Weather is currently 40% POV. The launch window will be open from 11:15 p.m. EDT August 25 to 3:15 a.m. EDT August 26.

Press Release is available here.

Live Broadcast:

Watch the live broadcast here beginning 20 minutes before the launch window opens.

Minotaur Mission Trajectory

About the Mission

Orbital ATK's Minotaur IV space launch vehicle will launch the ORS-5 mission for the U.S. Air Force as a part of the Orbital/Suborbital Program-3 (OSP-3) contract. ORS-5, also known as SensorSat, is designed to scan for other satellites and debris to aid the U.S. military’s tracking of objects in geosynchronous orbit. For the ORS-5 launch, the Minotaur IV will use two Orion 38 upper stage motors. The final Orion 38 motor burn will reduce the angle of the ORS-5 satellite’s orbit, redirecting the spacecraft to equatorial orbit.

Reference:

Minotaur IV Fact Sheet
ORS-5 Fact Sheet
Minotaur Webpage
Minotaur Mission History

Gallery

The top of Orbital ATK’s Minotaur 4 rocket ready for launch with the ORS-5 satellite. Credit: Orbital ATK

Technicians pose with the ORS-5, or SensorSat, spacecraft. Credit: MIT Lincoln Laboratory

News Source: Spaceflightnow.com

All the best for them! :thumbup:

 

[boogabooga]

The mission trajectory is weird for Minotaur IV. What's up with "S5"? Minotaur IV should have only 4 stages. Does the payload have its own thruster or something?

 

[gwiz]

Three secondary payloads and the main payload with its own Orion 38 motor are put into orbit, then the Orion 38, which is considered the fifth stage, fires to change the orbit of the main payload, basically a large plane change to equatorial orbit.

 

[boogabooga]

What is the fourth stage if the fifth stage is Orion 38?

Or were there a total of two Orion 38s?

Edit: Nevermind. Yes, there are two according to the Spaceflightnow.com article that was already linked.

This is the second weird non-Hohman launch to LEO this week that I had to look into.